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‘What if it was your momma?’ | Sons planning funeral for Navy veteran killed during carjacking in Mechanicsville

Renae Edwards-Alexander, a Navy veteran, was helping a friend move in an apartment in Mechanicsville, when she was shot and killed.

ATLANTA — Three young men are spending the first few days of November planning their mom’s funeral. 

Renae Edwards-Alexander was killed during a carjacking over the weekend as the Navy veteran was helping a friend move in an apartment in Mechanicsville.

Her oldest son, Detavious Pharr, said over the past few days, people continue to reach out, asking if he’s okay.

“No, I’m not okay," he told 11Alive's Hope Ford. "I’m not doing good.”

Pharr said he and his younger brothers, Willie Hurst and Zaquell, have barely slept. They try not to think about life without her.

“I just want to keep focusing on this funeral,” Pharr said. “She was always helping somebody. That’s how she died, helping somebody.”

A witness said she heard 30 shots at the Mechanicsville Apartments just before midnight on Saturday. Renae was shot twice.

RELATED: Police still searching for suspects in deadly Mechanicsville carjacking

Her nephew, Damarius Edwards, drove up from Florida that night.

“Cause that was my favorite person in the world," he said. "You know that there’s going to be a time when the person you love is going to go, but you want them to go out the way she deserved to go. And she didn’t deserve to go out like this."

Family said Renae was a teacher, veteran, mother, wife, and good friend.

“You could have known her for five years or five minutes and it was like you’ve known her all your life,” said Ann Holt, who knew Renae through a motorcycle club.

Instead of hearing Alexander laugh, her friends and family will hear each other cry, as they lay her to rest. The suspects … still free.

Holt said when they get caught, they need to pay.

"They need to come forward and let everyone know what’s going on," she said. "They took a person away that meant so much to people everywhere.”

RELATED: Navy veteran, mom killed in carjacking, online fundraiser says

Her youngest son, Hurst, had this to say to anyone who might know the people who killed his mom, and refuse to come forward: “What if it was your momma?”

Renae will be buried at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Central Holiness Church. They continue to raise money for her funeral and to pay to keep her home.

Police told 11Alive, there’s no new information to release, but they’re still following up on credible leads.

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